The “war” on drugs is almost a cliché by now. It’s been
raging for years, with no end in sight, no borders to invade and no garrisons
to capture. The casualties are legion, with lives erased or otherwise left in
ruins. It’s a dark cloud over most of the earth, attracting the greedy, the
desperate and the vengeful. Sicario
is a movie about the culture of law enforcement in and around the U.S./Mexico
border, where drug cartels rule.

Emily Blunt stars as FBI agent Kate Mercer, who discovers
several bodies hidden inside walls of an Arizona home during a raid. Following
the grisly find, she is recruited by the Department of Defense to join a task
force in search of a cartel leader. The DOD agent in charge is Matt Graver
(Josh Brolin), a casual, gruff fellow who seems to enjoy inflicting harm on
drug lords and their minions. Joining Graver is a mysterious man named
Alejandro (Benicio del Toro). The DOD team’s first mission is to retrieve an
informant in Juarez, who is captured and brought to the U.S. for interrogation
concerning the whereabouts of Diaz, a cartel leader. Another mission takes
place, but Kate soon learns that Alejandro might not be one of the good guys.

Sicario (a Spanish
word for “hitman”) is a movie that is as dark and depressing as the war on
drugs itself, complete with a sense of frustration and overwhelming obstacles
of money and brutal violence. Despite
these dismal themes, Sicario is an
excellent film that captures the essence of evil and the hopeless fight against
it.

Visually, Sicario
is stunning, with images provided by the masterful cinematographer Roger Deakins – who once
again establishes compelling landscapes that perfectly capture the film’s
themes.

Emily Blunt is also masterful in her portrayal of a peace
officer trying to make sense of the evil she wants to defeat. Other cast
members are equally brilliant, including del Toro and Brolin.

Sicario is rated R
for a good reason. There are several grisly images of dead bodies, murder and
torture. If these sorts of things offend you, please take note. Again, it isn’t a movie that will make anyone
feel good about the war on drugs, but it does provide an accurate depiction of
a persistent, awful reality within our culture.